


Ladies in Waiting

by The Last Good Name (thelastgoodname)



Series: Regina, Or, Nine Stories [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-24 11:13:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13212570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelastgoodname/pseuds/The%20Last%20Good%20Name
Summary: All Royal Courts, regardless of kingdom, are a pit of vipers, but especially so when one transparently does not belong. Even worse if one happens to be the new queen.





	Ladies in Waiting

“She’s barely a woman. Has she even flowered?” someone says from beyond the curtains.

 

A rash of tittering, and then another voice says, “Does it matter? I’m sure the King knows how to take care of these things. Or has instructed her ladies’ maids to do so.”

 

The first voice answers, “The way he dotes on the Princess, I doubt another child will be forthcoming.”

 

“Even a prince? She looks healthy enough. Full-figured.” This was a third woman, and the way she says “full-figured” put Regina in mind of brood horses and milking cows. Her mother agrees, and has told Regina at every opportunity, and they all make it sound as if child-bearing hips are somehow sounded like a deficit for a queen to have. Possibly it was for a second wife.

 

“A prince?” says the second woman again. “From that?”

 

“Rumor has it her father is from abroad.” This one, another voice entirely, sounds in complete agreement with the second woman. She also make the word “abroad” sound as if her father was the result of an unholy dalliance with the Dark One, or something even worse.

 

“Rumor?” It wasn’t a question.

 

There is more tittering. These women, whom Regina has never met, are sitting behind a curtain at her wedding reception laughing at her. Regina had thought there was no possible way this day could ever have gotten worse, but now, she can’t move away from the destruction of her reputation—by a group of women who are undoubtedly more polished, more feminine, more adept at court, than she.

 

“Rumor has it,” says the woman who thought “abroad” was akin to being a bastard or a beggar, “her mother is the one who got her father removed from the line of succession.”

 

“By magic?” says the second woman.

 

“Oh, no.” That was the first woman again. Regina thought she might recognize the voice, but it was so hard to tell. They all sounded so vicious, in a way they never would be to her face. “A good knowledge of magic is invaluable in a decent family.”

 

“Then?”

 

The same woman whispers, “By blood.”

 

“Well, blood will always tell, won’t it.” That was the “abroad” woman. Regina is almost sure she has never met her, but she imagines a sharp face, narrow and with close-set eyes. She sounds the type.

 

“And if he is from abroad….” says the second woman, the one who might have been the Duchess of — something with an N. Possibly. Or an M.

 

“If he isn’t a prince any longer,” says the first woman, the one who doesn’t think Regina is old enough to have gotten married, the only one of the group who seems to even slightly be on Regina’s side, “why didn’t the privy council block the marriage?”

 

“No proof.”

 

“That she’s…”

 

The possibly sharp-faced woman snorts; ladies don’t snort, her mother’s voice reminds Regina, but the sound is in no way a polite laugh. “You can see it in her face, of course.” See what, Regina thinks.

 

“Like father like daughter.” This is another woman entirely—there are so many of them, talking about her—but her father isn’t from anywhere other than here. This is beyond a doubt, as Regina has endured endless lessons on the subject; Regina’s mother has been very firm on this point. But now that they have raised the issue, she wonders: perhaps her mother has been too firm on this point.

 

“It’s a bit more prominent in the daughter,” says the sharp-faced woman. “I wouldn’t have taken her of a royal household if I hadn’t been told.” That tone again, the one that would as soon step on Regina as curtsy to her. Moreso now that she’s outright calling Regina—well, Regina isn’t quite sure what she’s calling her. Certainly not a fair as Snow White.

 

“Well, if the father’s been removed, she’s not eligible, is she?” That was the first woman again. Regina tries to contain her despair; who are all these people, and why are they so free with their conversation? Why are they so intent on making her out to seem a gold-digger who does not deserve her place. She might not want her place, but that’s very different from claiming she has no place here. She might not be the queen of the Kingdom’s heart, but surely she deserves some respect.

 

“The mother says there’s no truth to the rumors, of course, and the King wouldn’t accept anyone in disgrace, foreign or not.” The King who barely knows her name, much less her father’s? Maybe these women are right, maybe if she can just convince someone she’s not fit for her role, maybe she can—

 

The woman who has opinions on Regina’s hips speaks. “Knowing the mother, this has been in development for quite some time.” Opinions on Regina’s hips, and on her mother. Negative opinions, and Regina might have found succor in knowing this woman had as poor a view of her mother as she did, but this isn’t something they can come discuss together. She thinks as poorly of Regina as she does of Regina’s mother. The enemy of mine enemy is not always my friend. Regina had hoped that there might be something for her in this cold, dismal place with the King who hates her and the little girl who thinks she’s a doll, but finding allies might be a hard burden.

 

There is more tittering on the other side of the curtain in response. “And the rumors about the mother?” says the woman who thinks Regina’s beloved father is somehow not eligible to sire a Queen of the Enchanted Forest for a daughter. In that moment, she hates them all and would see them dead. The next moment, she cringes at the thought, at the rush of anger. She does not know these women, and they do not know her. They are merely gossiping, surely, and as the kingdom learns to know Regina, they will change their minds. They must.

 

“Dallying with—” there is a distinct pause, and Regina imagined some telling gestures that she can’t see are being made. The first person, the one who doesn’t think Regina is old enough to be married, continues, “Dallying with him?”

 

Regina wonders who her mother spend the most time with, who would these women know as her mothers—not friend. Her mother doesn’t have friends. Her mother’s confederate.

 

“I’ve heard,” says the sharp-faced woman, and she continues, but her voice has dropped so low Regina can’t make out anything.

 

“No!” Several voices echo, in response, “Never,” and “But the King!”

 

Whatever this woman has heard, it is clearly bad, and it is clearly about Regina’s mother. So there may be two approaches to removing herself from this horror: she is not fit for purpose, and neither is her mother, although for different reasons. Regina wonders which is more likely to get her out of this horror.

 

“But surely the King,” says the Duchess. “Surely the king would never put Snow White in danger.”

 

The fifth woman, the one who has said very little thus far, says dryly, “The King is very sure of his authority.”

 

Yes, Regina imagines he is, but so is her mother. Who wins, between the immovable object of a monarch and the unstoppable force of her mother? And between them, Regina herself, who cannot bring herself to come out from behind her curtain, much less face the King or her mother, both of whom are roving the reception like prowling cats.

 

“Regina!” chips Snow White loudly from Regina’s shoulder, and she startles. Another cat, Regina thinks, just as quiet on her feet. As deadly? Time will tell. There is silence behind the curtain; they must have heard Snow White and now they know. They cannot imagine anything other than the truth, and now they know that Regina was listening and said nothing. Will they now give her the respect due a Queen? Will they pretend, or will they continue to cut her into shreads.

 

The Duchess pulls back the curtain, exposing Regina and Snow White. “Your Majesty,” she drawls and does not curtsy. Regina stiffens. So: the knives are out in force, as before. “So nice to see you taking on the mantle of Queen. You have large shoes to fill, you know. Queen Eva was much beloved, as is her daughter.” The woman smiles at Snow White and inclines her head; Show White blushes and offers her own tiny curtsy.

 

Regina blushes as well, although not nearly so prettily. She is not taking on anything, she is hiding, and this woman knows it. Regina opens her mouth to reply, but before she can, the woman who has thoughts about horses and women takes a next turn. “I look forward to meeting the King’s next heir, should there be one.” She, too, does not curtsy to Regina, but turns to face Snow White and says, “Princess, I’m sure you, too are eager for a younger sibling. A sister to dote on?”

 

“Oh, yes,” says Snow White. She tugs on Regina’s elbow. “You will make such beautiful babies with Daddy. Nurse says babies come after three seasons, and it is summer now, so I will expect a sister in spring.”

 

It is not a request.

 

“Perhaps,” says the woman who first spoke, the woman who wondered if Regina was old enough to be a wife. If she had been Daniel’s wife… but her new husband is much older, of course. “Her Majesty should have a bit of time to adjust to being a wife before she becomes a mother.”

 

“Oh, but she’s already a mother,” says Snow White brightly. “She’s my mother.” She smiles, and reaches out to pat the woman’s hand. In an adult, it would be a generous gesture, but from a child it must grate. It does on Regina, and she’s not even the woman Snow White is touching. “Not as wonderful a mother as Mother,” the child continues, “but a good substitute, I think.”

 

The woman very nearly frowns, but doesn’t say anything else. The woman who thinks Regina is unfathomably foreign for the wife of her King opens her mouth, and Regina steels herself. “I’m not sure welcoming new royal children is something we should look forward to. After all, they may have…undesirable traits. Unlike yourself, Princess.”

 

“Oh, no, I don’t mind that Regina is darker. I think it’s exotic, like she’s from another land.” Of course Snow White would understand and speak things which are not meant to be spoken. She turns to Regina. “I think you should wear one of those cape dresses, you’d look very nice in one.”

 

“A kaftan?” the Duchess asks, voice full of vicious amusement. Regina cringes again and wishes to drown in her embarrassment.

 

“Yes! Billowy and romantic, like you’d stepped out of the pages of a book about the Arabian Nights. Daddy would love that, I think. I’ll have someone make you a dress!”

 

It is again not a request, and the other women titter at Snow White’s enthusiasm. They have her measure, and Snow White’s, and probably her mother’s as well. The Duchess smiles again at Snow White, and curtsies to her once more, this time deep and full and befitting royalty. “I believe we shall have to take our leave, Your Highness. The dancing is about to begin.”

 

Snow White clutches Regina’s arm again. “You must find Daddy. I’m sure he’s looking for you.”

 

Regina can see her whole life stretching out before her: these woman, that child, her mother. The King.

 

She inhales, and clings to thoughts of Daddy’s kind hands, Daniel’s smile, Rocinante waiting for her in the stable. She will survive, and she will learn, and she will master her new life. She must. There is no other choice.


End file.
